The European Union has developed a new plan for the purchase of Russian gas, which avoids violation of sanctions and will satisfy Russia’s requirements, writes Bloomberg.
At a closed meeting, the European Commission introduced a plan of the new leadership, which states that European importers can open accounts in euros or dollars in Gazprombank. Companies must make a clear statement that they consider their obligations fulfilled after payment in the euro or dollars, in accordance with existing contracts, and Moscow should not require any other payments from the EU countries. However, the European Commission did not specify its attitude to the opening of an account in Gazprombank in rubles. Earlier, officials indicated, although not in writing, that the opening of such an account would violate the sanctions. This moment is not considered in the updated manual.
When discussing a new plan, representatives of states were divided into opinions. While Germany, Hungary, Italy and France approved the plan of the commission, Poland approved that there was no legal clarity in it, and urged the EU ambassadors to discuss this issue. Others were embarrassed by the lack of specific instructions for opening accounts in rubles. The commission refused to comment on the revised manual.